Travelers Championship hosts "Operation Shower" for military moms-to-be

June 19, 2013

By Sasha Dusbabek, Special to PGATOUR.com

HARTFORD, Conn.- This year’s Travelers Championship started off with a little extra love and appreciation. Operation Shower teamed up with Birdies for the Brave®, Carousel Designs and the entertainment news show Extra to host a baby shower for 40 military moms-to-be whose spouses are deployed members of the U.S. Navy and the Connecticut Army National Guard.

The “Red White and Coo” themed event was hosted by Extra correspondent Hilaria Thomas Baldwin, an expectant mother herself and wife to actor Alec Baldwin.

“I’m thrilled to host this event with Operation Shower, Birdies for the Brave and Extra,” said Baldwin. “Preparing for a baby is incredibly exciting, but can also be very expensive.  I’m so proud to be able to support and spend time with these military moms-to-be while providing them with the necessities for welcoming their new bundles of joy into the world.”

During the shower, the honored moms enjoyed a lunch provided by Applebee’s, were able to win prizes and be among the company of other military moms-to-be.  Each mom received an array of gifts, such as diaper bags, crib bedding and baby clothing. All gifts were donated by various companies, including Travelers Insurance, Petunia Pickle Bottom, Extra and Carousel Designs.

“Our goal is to bring the moms together with other moms who are in the same situation to provide them with lots of fun gifts, but also to bring together a group of people that want to say thank you and tell the moms that we appreciate them and we know that what they’re doing is hard and that they deserve a baby shower,” said Operation Shower Founder and Chief Shower Officer LeAnn Morrissey.

Throughout the years, Operation Shower has significantly impacted the military moms-to-be. This event was particularly special for mother Victoria Magnusson who had previously never heard of Operation Shower and was delighted to be able to meet and discuss with other mothers in similar situations.

“[Operation Shower] is mind-blowing. It’s so beautiful, and the service that they’re doing for us…just to even be thought of as important is a blessing,” said Magnusson.

During the ceremony, Admiral Kenneth Perry and his wife took the stage to say a special thank you to all of the mothers. “Our submarines are doing terrific work for the country and for the Navy, and your husbands are doing superb work aboard the ships. They can’t do their missions as thoroughly and as expertly as they do without knowing that you are running things at home, that you are carrying that torch and taking care of the family.”

“To be able to take these mothers whose husbands have been deployed and shower them with some great gifts and make it a really special day for them is something that we love, it’s a part of our military appreciation and we’re very fortunate to even be able to do it,” said Nathan Grube, tournament director of the Travelers Championship. “It fits right into what a PGA TOUR event is. A PGA TOUR event is about giving back and this is giving back.”